Rolf M. Zinkernagel

Rolf Zinkernagel
Born	Rolf Martin Zinkernagel (1944-01-06) January 6, 1944 Riehen, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland
Fields	Immunology
Institutions	University of Zurich
Alma mater	Australian National University (PhD) University of Basel (MD)
Thesis	The role of the H-2 gene complex in cell-mediated immunity to viral and bacterial infections in mice (1975)
Known for	Cytotoxic T cells
Notable awards	Ernst Jung Prize (1982) Mack-Forster Prize (1985) Gairdner Foundation International Award (1986) Christoforo Colombo Award (1992) Albert Lasker Medical Research Award (1995) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1996) ForMemRS (1998) AC FAA
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Website www.immunology.uzh.ch/aboutus/emeriti/zinkernagel.html

Rolf Martin Zinkernagel AC, FAA (born January 6, 1944 in Riehen, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland) is Professor of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 for the discovery of how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells.

Education

Zinkernagel received his MD degree from the University of Basel in 1970 and his PhD from the Australian National University in 1975.

Career and research

Zinkernagel is a member of the Cancer Research Institute Scientific Advisory Council, The National Academy of Sciences, and The Academy of Cancer Immunology. Zinkernagel was elected as a Corresponding Fellow to the Australian Academy of Science also in 1996.

Awards and honours

Together with the Australian Peter C. Doherty he received the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells. With this he became the 24th Swiss Nobel laureate. In 1999 he was awarded an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Australia's highest civilian honour, for his scientific work with Doherty.

Viruses infect host cells and reproduce inside them. Killer T-cells destroy those infected cells so that the viruses can't reproduce. Zinkernagel and Doherty discovered that, in order for killer T-cells to recognize infected cells, they had to recognize two molecules on the surface of the cell—not only the virus antigen, but also a molecule of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This recognition was done by a T-cell receptor on the surface of the T-cell. The MHC was previously identified as being responsible for the rejection of incompatible tissues during transplantation. Zinkernagel and Doherty discovered that the MHC was responsible for the body fighting meningitis viruses too.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, he also won the Cloëtta Prize in 1981, the Cancer Research Institute William B. Coley Award in 1987 and the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award in 1995. Zinkernagel was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMeRS) in 1998.